: : I'm a bassist in a death metal band with a double-bass drummer and 2 other guitarists. each guitarist has a pair of 100w all-tube heads driving four 4x12 cabs. needless to say, they play loud. with the loud distorted guitars and our heavy-hitting drummer with bright cymbals, my bass is getting buried when we jam and play live

: : right now I'm using an Ashley mosfet bass preamp, an AB Systems 500w solid-state power amp, and a pair of DeCuir 4x12 bass cabs loaded with Cerwin-Vega bass drivers. what are your opinions on this rig? what type of improvements could I make to help bring my bass from under the guitar onslaught?

: : I'm really happy with the tone that I get. I play with a pick on flatwounds and get an awesome fat tone that's really warm despite there being no tubes in any of my gear. would a more powerful power amp and different cabs be the answer? or should I scrap my rig and start over?

: : one thing- I know that it's unusual for a metal bassist to be using flatwounds, but like I said, I play with a pick, and I absolutely hate the sound of a pick on roundwounds. it's too clangy and harsh for my ears. I do pump up the treble on my Ashley preamp to give me some presence, but I think my problem lies in power and volume. what do you think?

: : thanks for your help on this...glenn

: Yuo could try boosting a few of the mids, can sometimes help cut through the mix. You have a lot of power, but up against those monsters I can see how you get lost. Any chance of turning down a bit? (Yeah I know thats far fectched, I've been there too). Do you have a P.A. that you could go through as well as your rig? Maybe use a D.I. box and go direct to that? Good luck -B

:: Once I read that the former Living Colour bassist, Muzz Skilings had the same problem with the drmmer´s heavy use of cymbals: The solution was to boost the mids to cut through the cymbals (I guess it was that...)